The option of housing displaced residents on barges in Port Arthur is no longer an option as the
barges failed an inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick says
FEMA is meeting to find alternate locations for temporary housing, which would include city
and county facilities. Branick says with Ford Park being used as a staging area, the possibility of
using the facility for housing is remote. Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman reported on his
Facebook page that nearly 300 citizens are housed at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Others
are displaced in Garland, Dallas, and San Antonio.